Apple has taken a shine to a Cambridge company's augmented reality app.

Hiking app ViewRanger's Skyline technology has been highlighted by the tech giant in a Today Store which appeared in the App Store. The story promoted images of Skyline and called it “one of the coolest uses of AR we’ve seen so far.”

Viewranger Skyline

Skyline is a free augmented reality tool within the ViewRanger app, instantly identifies and labels landscape features using the camera on smartphones. Explorers can view place, lake, and peak names around them, and more than 9 million features can be labeled across the globe.

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Users can view real-time direction arrows and waypoints overlaid on the real landscape while navigating a route. They can also see their virtual footsteps as they explore in Skyline mode.

Viewranger Skyline

“Skyline transforms the way people view and understand the landscape around them,” said ViewRanger CEO Craig Wareham. “Map and trail info can be placed right into the real landscape using our AR technology. It reinvents how hikers and walkers find their way in the outdoors.”

ViewRanger says it saw a big spike in people downloading the app and trying out Skyline during walks and outdoor activities through the Christmas holiday week as a result of the story.